Mint and Berries

 The riverside skein was reeled off today

yielding 258 yards of the fingering weight yarn.

I was afraid I was over-spinning it while plying

 but it turned out beautifully balanced;  a nice surprise!

I wrote the label and then thought to look up the details on the fiber-

it is not wool/rayon (even though that is what it feels like!

Ramie is what I meant to write....)

but here is a link if you are interested in what it is for real.

(a biodegradable cellulose fiber that is supposed to be mint infused-there is zero mint aroma,

 I will add!  But it is a very inexpensive spin!)

 I don't know what I will make with this skein....

but I finished it!

The first fiber I have spun and skeined this year!

 This is the pretty lane next to our driveway that leads to the homes of two widows behind our property.  Bill maintains the right-of-way as it is on our property.  

The 2-day rainstorm washed out the road farther down from here,

and he had some late night repairs to do so that they could leave their homes!

I like the snake rail fencing down the southern side of the lane!

 This fencing is made using railroad ties instead of split logs,

 but the zig zag construction is the same.

This view is looking back up towards the main road.

Why do we ride the golf cart down the lane?

To go to pick Mulberries!!!!

Fibers Feel Good

There was a beautiful courtyard at the hospital that we spent a lovely hour exploring.

We didn't recognize this flower but it was so pretty.  Anyone recognize it?

I did finish the hat from the One Skein Wonders book.  It was simple but fun with the lace edging. 

This morning I decided to spend some quiet time spinning up this Wensleydale top for the joy of it. 

It is a lustrous long wool that was a good spin in every way.  Being in top form (combed) made it a bit slick at first but I caught on . 

I have 250 yards of this fingering weight yarn.  I do not have anything in particular that I will be doing with it.  I wanted to try it and now I have! 

The skein is much creamier colored than it looked in the roving but there is still luster to the fiber even after washing!  I would call this a good spin. 

Tonight as I enjoyed recliner time, I did something very out of character for me;  I knit on three different projects!  The more I think about it, the more I am learning;  pain makes you a stranger even to yourself!

ADVENTURE!

Bill found a post on the Farm site for a 10lb bag of llama fiber.  A whole fleece. 

I gave a call and she said, yes, she still had it.  It needs to be sorted and combed and dehaired but the price was right so I am game!  Anyone have any experience prepping llama fleece?! 

After we picked up the fleece, we drove to St Augustine with several errands along the way.

I finished knitting this pair of mittens.  The pattern is not published yet so I have posted it in black//white to save the eye candy until later! 

Bill's on a roll;  he found a new restaurant, Cafe Atlantica, for us to try.  Very classy place, wonderful service all leading up to an amazing plate of Seafood Gnoocchi.  I am still on a culinary cloud 9!

We stopped for a gaze at the ocean and a few deep breaths of this salty sea air!

It was packed with surfers.  It is fun to watch! 

After taking care of all of the thread tails for the mittens, I swatched this new project.  I had to work out the gauge for the pattern because I am using my own hand spun Coopworth yarn and I need the hat to fit a human not some other! 

I am excited about the results!  The KAL doesn't begin to Thursday so now I have to put the brakes on my fingers until then! 

Talk about exciting...look what is going to do its blooming!  I am going out now to see-remember, it is a night blooming flower so I have to stay up to catch a view and sniff, the aroma is very heady!

Another Slow Saturday...

I am halfway through the quilting on this vintage quilt for Millie.

The motif  design is intricate but it covers 12" in a pantograph row so I make good progress each pass!

I got the next two sections of roving ready for spinning after a bit of quilting.

(Quilting is done standing up and I last only so long!)

This roving was a bit too dense, perhaps during the dyeing or packing or shipping so I had to tease open the length of the roving so the fibers would draft for spinning. 

You get to know your fiber when this step needs to be added;  it is a good way to learn the length of the fiber so you can give it a good consistent spin!  It is a good way to save a roving that might have become a bit felted during the processing. 

After spinning and plying, I wound the skein off the bobbin onto the winder.  You can see how the skein transitions from pastel to intense color!  The colors lined up almost perfectly except for a bit in the middle of the skein-funny how it works out!  All told, a very good spin. 

Doesn't this look wonderful!  I almost always pop my new skeins right into water for a good soak and then hang them to dry so they will be ready for use when I need them.

Now I have two skeins of 4 oz of BFL to knit!

Ending A Work Week

It is still considered work, even when you are retired.  I am after all, still alive!  

I dyed a superwash roving and a Cormo roving and hung them out to dry in the sun.

Then the sun turned a bit rainy and Bill rescued them to finish drying in shower!

(I was at the doctor's again because I am addicted to spending hours there every week...!) 

I pulled myself out of my comfort zone and tried some different combinations of colors for the roving.   

This is the superwash and I will begin the TDF tomorrow with the red/white and blue! 

I couldn't resist braiding this when dry-it will be a new series of colorways;  this one called Fall:  Earth and Sky. 

This roving I split already so I can begin right away tomorrow morning!! 

(I split the roving because the yarn will be two ply hence, two bobbins of spun singles)

I finished up some more of the Brioche dish cloths, this set for me.  My own were looking a bit ratty.

I still do not have a knitting project to allure me at present so I will wait for inspiration to strike while I am spinning during the next few weeks of the race.  It's not like I am low on yarn or anything but sometimes, a funk happens.

I know enough to wait it out. 

This morning I did another Cormo roving dye  batch;  this one echoing the one I did yesterday but in lighter colors for Spring:  Earth and Sky.  

                            
I had enough sunshine to risk hanging these outside this morning to dry!

While the roving was drying, I carded up four ounces of the Florida Gulf Native Sheep fleece I washed earlier in the week.  It is very soft which is good because this can be a coarser fiber.

I will leave this natural to go with my other 'natural' wool yarn pile.  If the yarn turns out nicely, I will dye some of the remaining fleece.

Today the roving dried in no time!   I used very little dye powder to get the pastel colors.  This is not my usual color choices but it is so very pretty.  It will be a good spin! 

Now that I have the fibers all ready for tomorrow, I cut out a lined dress for Marsel.

I made this dress last year and gratefully made all the alterations I needed right on the pattern pieces so all I had to do was lay them out, pin and cut!  

I will be sewing it together when I need a spinning break!

Monday's Meanderings

 After doing the usual Monday morning chores, I dug out some angora fiber and experimented with different kinds of rolags/punis for spinning.  The fiber is so soft and light that it is a breeze to prepare.   The little pile in the back right is the waste fibers-little felted areas or short pieces.  

 The fiber is long at 3-4" and spins beautifully.   I am using my e-spinner set at a good clip with little draw in so that it is easy to control the slippery fiber.   It is so soft even on the bobbin!

 I did some exercise by spinning on the Traveler so I did some treadling also.   I am spinning some prepared Suri Alpaca top and it is spinning very nicely!   I have tried to prepare my own Suri twice and it was a huge misery so this was going to be my last attempt at spinning this fiber.   I am glad it is going well.  I hope to ply this later today so I can see how the yarn turns out.

 I did the mini skein of Banana Silk!   More of the yellow tones washed out after I had the skein plied but it is a pretty color-now what to do with such a little skein-probably a washcloth because it has the feel of linen.  (I hope it will soften up after each washing like linen does!)

 I played with the disappearing block again-using two colors instead of a neutral for the second layer cake square.   I am happy with the results!

 While I was playing inside, Bill decided to tackle this dead tree removal at dusk.

 He was cutting it down so the big branches wouldn't fall on his someday project, restoring this backhoe.  Oops!  It went right on top of it when the tree went down!

 This morning as he cut up the trunk and branches, he could see that it fell on the strongest part of the chassis and didn't damage it at all!  It looks better without the tree there now!

 Isn't this pretty?  It is looking down on top of the last pagoda bloom.

See?  It is a huge one at about 16" in height!  Off to the sewing room to work on Millie's quilt on the frame!  Have a good day!

I Knew That.........

I got out the four skeins of hand spun cotton that I had dyed a few years ago.  I never did anything with it because it wouldn't stop bleeding dye.   I put it in the washer in a lingerie bag to soak in the clorox to get rid of the extra dye.   Well, the color isn't bleeding now but I forgot to turn off the cycle when the washer filled and the lingerie bag zipper broke and the washer was filled with this tangled mess.   I laid it out in the sun to dry thinking I could untangle it but I am admitting defeat!
I threw the whole mess into the trash.   You have heard the phrase 'yarn barf' well this is it!
Note to self-the washer may be used with fiber antics only as a big soaking tub....do not walk away!   Ever.

On a brighter note, I made some of creamed peas and tuna earlier this week-it is comfort food. Has anyone ever heard of it or eaten it?

 The King Orchid is in full bloom-it is magnificent!

These little faces look like they are laughing!  I have several skeins of cotton left to play with-I am trying to laugh at myself, too........