I recently finished spinning some yarn that I really enjoyed making. For once I thought ahead and took some photos throughout the process to share with you in a blog post. I think the photos sort of tell a story of how this yarn came to be.
Before I show you the photos let me explain what I used and how I spun it. The yarn is spun with 100% corridale wool. The dark brown fiber is a natural dark brown- not dyed. The two shades of violet fibers I previously dyed with cochineal. I used my carders to blend the fibers together. I wanted them to be only slightly blended as I still wanted the violets to come through. Once I finished making the rolags I spun the fiber using the long draw method of spinning. This created a very bulky and lofty yarn that is going to be very warm and cozy.
I plan on listing this yarn in my Etsy shop as soon as I can.
Here are its details:
- 100% corriedale
- naturally dyed
- handspun
- ~6 wpi
- super bulky weight thick & thin
- US needle 11 & up
I’m ending my little blogging dry spell today by joining Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots for Gratitude Sunday.
Lately it has been hard for me to be grateful. I find myself dealing with so much right now. I’m not one that really likes to discuss my personal life in intimidate details so please forgive me for not going into things too deeply. It’s just that life has been hard these past few weeks. Very hard.
It seems I need to stop and take some time to reflect on the things I do have to be grateful for. Today I am grateful for:
- my children being so fascinated by the frozen spider web found in the yard this morning
- the completely goofy sense of humor my daughter has and how she made us all crack up today
- the dog that licked Gabriel all over the face while on our walk the other day and left Gabriel standing there completely shocked (and a little disgusted! the look on his face was priceless!)
- seeing the strength in my 14 year old son while he deals with his own pain and recent loss
- enjoying a homemade meal together while the weather is icy and gloomy outside
- Reading and knitting by the fireplace at night once the little ones are tucked in bed
- pausing in the garden today to enjoy the sight of all the plants laced with frosty ice from the freezing fog we keep experiencing
Thank you to Taryn for hosting Gratitude Sunday. Please be sure to stop by and visit everyone’s post. And thank you all for stopping by and reading this post today. I am still out there in the blogging world- just not so much lately!
Just a couple of pictures to show what I have in progress this week. I decided to use my drop spindle to ply the hemp roving. It was easy enough to spin singles of it on the wheel but once I started to attempt to ply it, oh boy! It tangled like crazy until I was ready to pull my hair out! I have a lot more control of it on my drop spindle– even if it is more slow going.
Since my wheel is no longer occupied with the hemp roving now on my drop spindle, I decided it need not be empty for long and got to work spinning up a merino top. The colors of this top are a bit brighter and more bold than what I like but I thought once spun the yarn would knit up into a pretty cute and colorful hat for Gabriel to wear this winter. After all, we need punches of color to brighten up the dark rainy days. And being that he is a toddler I figure he can pull off the bright colors pretty well and still look cute.
I have decided today that October is one of my favorite months of the year. During a break in the rain I had Gabriel and Ariella out exploring with me and we were admiring all the fall colors all about us. There is just something about all that orange and yellow against the gray misty sky that is breathtakingly beautiful.
Earlier this week the kids and I enjoyed an afternoon of watercolor painting as we painted some leaves made from cardstock. Logan and I attempted to make ours somewhat realistic while the younger two painters just went for it. Nothing fancy, just simple watercolors the kids have on hand. Once dry, I strung the leaves together with sewing thread and hung them from our dining room. I love the effect of the slightest breeze making them twirl like they are really falling down. I did this while they were all sleeping and it was quite a joy for me to watch their faces as they came downstairs for breakfast the next morning and noticed the leaf mobile.
I am as busy as ever with my knitting, spinning and dyeing (both the website and Etsy have new yarns if you would like to take a peek!). I hope to share the progress of my hemp yarn here soon. Never enough time in the day!
Have a wonderful weekend,
Cynthia
