Shop Update

Terribly sorry I’ve been behind. A lot of projects on the burner, hopefully many coming to fruition soon.

Lots of different stuff this time around!

Blending silk/silk seconds, wensleydale, merino/bamboo, bfl, finn, rambouillet, polwarth, and romney!

Let me know if there’s any particular fibers or colorways you’d like to see more of/again.

Blending Silk/Silk Seconds:

Incoming Tide: The die washes in, soft and rolling, shades of blue and white mixing…

Orange Sherbet: The perfect thing for a hot and humid summer day, cold sweet tangy orange sherbet. Mmmm delicious!

Amethyst Mines: Deep in the darkness, perfect purple crystals grow, waiting to be harvested. Shards and purple dust litter the ground, refracting the light from your helmet…

Rose Fields: Great fields of roses ripple in the wind, wafting a heady scent to your nose and bringing a smile to your face…

Wensleydale:

The Emerald’s Heart: Deep in deepest green, flashes the spark of magic. The heart of the emerald, the heart of the living forest, the magic of life…

Brocade: Rich and decadent, shimmering with luxurious color beyond the resources of the common man. Soft and heavy brocade drapes and pools across the floor, glowing in the flickering firelight…

Merino/Bamboo:

A Tiger in the Rain: The rain drips and runs in rivulets, pattering on the ground, and muffling all sight and sound. Deep fur becomes wet, but not the appetite that smolders beneath the brown and gold!

Forgotten Riches: Deep in the crypts the wealth of forgotten kings lies, draped in a lacework of spiderwebs and dust, waiting to be discovered and brought back into the light to glitter and shine…

BFL:

Witness to Your Life:
Someone was crying and the bells ring
Then I don’t remember a thing
You were talking but the words came – from somebody else
Someone said kiss her and so you did
I was smilin’ like a little kid
You kissed my teeth and then we both hid – inside each other’s arms

Dry Cornfields: Fall comes and the corn ripens and the stalks turn yellow, leaving rolling fields of soft gold and brown that rustles and sways in the wind.

Finn:

The Last Harvest: Summer comes to an end and the last vines start to dry, leaving spots of orange pumpkins and squash among the muted browns and greens…

Blue Skies:
Blue skies smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies do I see
Blue birds singing a song
Nothing but blue skies from now on.

Rambouillet:

Swamp Flower: Amid the bursting green grown and soft dripping moss, the brilliant flower blooms. A spot of bright yellow among the green.

The Witch Hazel Blooms – Golden flowers fill the wood, blooming along the branches that divine the presence of water and leaves the cleanse the skin and soul…

Heart of the Fire: Brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows flicker and dance in the heart of the fire, where the heat is highest and the spirit of living things is released as energy to warm our souls…

Sadness is a Wall: “Sadness is but a wall between two gardens.” ~Kahlil Gibran. And we have so many gardens… and so very many walls. Better to weave a bridge than build a wall.

Polwarth:

As the Smoke Rises: As the smoke rises from the smoldering ashes, the rains begin to fall, rinsing away the dust and soot and waking the slumbering seeds beneath waiting to give new birth to the wood.

Romney:

Across the Garden: Flowers bloom in profusion, forming waves and patches of brilliant purple, red, and blue across the top of the garden. The air is filled with the sound of birds and butterflies dance among the blossoms…

Gold Mine: A rich vein of shining metal runs next to the thin vein of quartzine, smudged by the brown of the mud you’ve been digging. You’ve finally struck gold!

Wolf: A low growl sounds, a howl, a bark, pups roll and tussle in the snow as the adults look on, laughing with canine tongues lolling. A dark muzzle turns to look at you, eyes flashing…

Aaaand I think that’s all for today, kids. I hope to get more up sooner than another month. And I need to get some blog posts up about weaving and trips and lions and tigers and bears oh my!

~The Gnome

Hi guys!

In case you’d noticed (or didn’t) there aren’t any stitch markers listed on the shop anymore.

While I’ve been waiting (and continue to wait) for my job to start, Gnomespun has expanded past the bounds of a hobby to an actual business, albeit small. As such, everything’s gone all official now which means all the fun paperwork that comes with being official. Well, it turns out that the stitch markers of everything I buy and sell for the business qualify for a whole raft of extra paperwork. So, since their a very small portion of my retail sales, I’m taking them down to simplify things.

Stitch markers will still be available at the fairs I attend. And I’ll still be including as bonus gifts them with orders over $50 (including shipping). If you make such an order, please feel free to note whether you’d like a crochet or knitting set.

Hope to get some new fiber and yarn up shortly, a couple interesting new things. Stuff’s drying slowly in this insane humidity.

~The Gnome

Ok… so, the suffolk adventure continues.

We have a couple different pieces of new information.

A supplier (not the same as the one I bought from) has informed me that yes, there are grey suffolks, but they are rare and so grey roving/top tends to be limited. This is a supplier I trust fairly implicitly. I may buy some of their “grey suffolk” to compare to mine. Even in the photos it looks nothing like what I have, but a lot more like I’d expect a downs wool to look.

Another supplier (thank you, Helen) says that Suffolk’s are born black and age to white or grey. As best as I can determine this is a conflation of the question, as they are born black (like their legs and head) but as soon as the wool comes in they are white or grey.

Also, Deb Ronson apparently dealt with a similar fiber and came to a similar conclusion about it’s origin.

Being largely raised for meat, we know that suffolk will likely vary quite a bit from fleece to fleece, and possibly even more between white and grey fleeces. However, you usually expect even within variance there to be some standards. Downs wools will be springy, tend to be shorter stapled, have a spiral crimp, etc. Most of the meat breeds tend to be shorter on kemp (though this can be thrown off by the fact they may collect the britch wool along with the rest).

The U.S. breed standard specifies that they must be white and “free of dark fibers, and shading into dark hair or wool.” But that’s U.S. and the suffolk is a worldwide breed. Other associations seem to have similar standards, but I can’t read many of them.

Additionally, there is a “White Suffolk” which is the same, but with white face and feet (the normal suffolk has black face and feet).

So um… information says… stuff!

I still don’t think what I have is suffolk, at least not in the strict sense of the breed. I’m going to try to acquire some other suffolk from trusted sources to compare with it. We shall see!

I’ll keep you updated. For now i’m having a bit of trouble getting fiber dry, as the air here is at 100% humidity (when you walk around, rain drops randomly coalesce on you).

That’s all for now. I’ll let you know when I have more info!

~The Gnome

A Shop Update! The first August Update…

In this update: BFL/Silk, Polwarth, Finn, Romney, Merino/Angora, Cheviot, Perendale, Wensleydale, and… um… Grey Wool.

So here’s the story behind “grey wool.” You see, I’m still learning, like many people. One of the places I periodically order stuff from to try had a sale. Included was this fiber called “Grey Suffolk.” Well, I haven’t spun or dyed suffolk, so I happily ordered a couple pounds of it. It was only after it arrived that I noticed something was up. It’s double coated and not super sproingy like all the other downswools I’ve tried. So… I ask the Great Google… “Oh Great Google, tell me about this sheep, the Suffolk!”

Well, the Great Google knows all, so it happily sputters off all this information about this fine downs wool sheep, bred from a cross between the southdown and norfolk horned sheep.

“But Great Google” I ask, “Aren’t those WHITE sheep?” Again, the Great Google knows all and likes to share information, so it responds, “Why yes! Which is why the suffolk is white as well! It increases the wool value for the English wool pool, where the suffolk was bred! Isn’t that lovely?”

I blink. I look at the fiber I’ve dyed. I look at Great Google. I look at the fiber I’ve dyed. “But… this is double coated… and GREY!” Great Google cocks its head and thinks a bit, “Ah yes, there’s a reference to something similar happening to someone else, here see? There’s something they call suffolk that isn’t. It may be FROM Suffolk… And apparently there are some people with soft grey suffolk… probably, but that isn’t what you’re holding there.”

“Oh. I see… well… um… I guess it didn’t feel like downs wool anyway. And it sure doesn’t feel like something with a southdown parent. I um… guess I’ll be on my way then? Yeah. Thanks though!”

So. Learning experience. There’s something called “suffolk” that isn’t actually from suffolk sheep. And there’s suffolk that’s white and apparently suffolk that’s a light grey… maybe. So um, yeah, my quest for actual suffolk that I can guarantee came from a suffolk sheep continues. I’m looking into it. Clearly I need to meet a suffolk sheep. Or several.

Until then, new fiber! Coming soon, blending silk seconds, and more!

BFL/Silk:

Warm Caramel: Sticky sweet candy pulls and drips, hot between your fingers, stretching in delectable strands, tempting you as it dangles towards the floor. Quick, catch it before it falls!

Polwarth:

Sandpiper: Skipping along at the edge of the water, bobbing its head, the sandpiper runs. A little speck of brown and white, skittering among the incoming waves.

Finn:

Honeydew and Cantaloupe: Two summer favorites, even better together! As the warmest part of summer hits, it’s time for wedges and bowls of fresh green and soft orange fruit, dripping with juice.

Romney:

A Midnight Meeting: Two shadowed figures meet, heads tipped towards each other. A meeting of clandestine lovers? A passing of secret information? Who knows what secrets might be passed in these deep shadows?

Merino/Angora 80/20:

More Rhubarb Than Cobbler: The last bites of warm sweet summer cobbler, all sweet drippy fruit and juice. So sweet and tangy on the tongue. Can I have some more please?

Cheviot:

Fall on Split Boulder: Clambering and climbing up the huge stone, immeasurably old, left by the last great glacier retreating. Childhood memories gather like piles of leaves beneath the trees, and you smile…

Perendale:

Buttercup Fields: Running through fields of brilliant yellow flowers. Running so fast they leave yellow streaks on your ankles before falling down laughing to rub yellow stains on each others noses.

Wensleydale:

When I Am Old I Shall Wear Purple:
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
with a red hat that doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
and satin candles, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired
and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
and run my stick along the public railings
and make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
and pick the flowers in other people’s gardens
and learn to spit.

The End of Pumpkin Season: Fall ends, and vines slowly fade and turn dry brittle and white, leaving only skeletal remains. Bright spots of pumpkins dot the fields with the last fading tracery of green…

Cold Steel Waters: Water rushes hissing over the hot metal, cooling the cold steel quickly and releasing a cloud of steam, obscuring the blacksmith. What shall be pulled from the cold steel waters, sword, or plowshare?

The Lawn Still Needs Mowing: I know I mowed it last week, how is it long again? And you know as soon as I mow it… summer is in full swing and the grass knows it! Springing up seemingly overnight, demanding mowing immediately when I want to relax in the hammock…

Fields of Gold:
You’ll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You’ll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we walk in the fields of gold

The Nightingale and the Rose: A drop of heartsblood to turn a rose red to prove a love true…

Natural Grey:

The Nightingale and the Rose: A drop of heartsblood to turn a rose red to prove a love true…

Wandering the Summer Woods: Walking in the dark emerald shadows of the wood. Layered leaves throw fractured pools of green shadow and light as you wander deeper, imagining what magic and mystery you might find at the heart of the wood…

Sunset Sandstorm: The warm glow of a fading sun flashes through the clouds of glimmering sand, turning the world into a swirling wall of glinting red and gold fire..

Geode Secrets: Buried in a lump of unassuming stone, brilliant faceted secrets lie. Purple and blue and red swirl in patterns arising from unimaginable heat melting even the stones until they shine like mirrors…

That’s all for now, folks!

~The Gnome