There’s an update to the shop up. Long, lustrous wensleydale! Several colorways even have two braids if you want more than 4oz.
Will post about NH Sheep and Wool in a bit, and such. I’m preparing for an interview early next week so I’m a bit all over right now.
And a new Phouka colorway
That’s all for now. See you soon!
~The Gnome
Allo again. I’ve been dyeing like crazy because NH Sheep and Wool festival is coming!
Tomorrow and Sunday I will be in the Holiday Yarns booth with Jennifer and the Tsocktsarina selling my fiber, handspun, yarn, and maybe some stitch markers!
There will be more fiber than anything, as you can see from the 54 braids here in this photo, and there’s more on top of that. Wensleydale, Finn, Dorset, Cheviot, Border Leicester, Romney, and Cotswold.
We will be in the Hood Building (nice if the weather gets icky) so come on by and say, “Hi!”
That’s all for now, hope to see you there!
~The Gnome
These photos are a bit old at this point. They’re from two guild meetings ago. But that’s ok, I like them.
THREE meetings ago, I was finishing up my dissertation and so I couldn’t make it to the meeting. This was sad, as Michael Cook (Wormspit on Rav) was there. It would have been awesome to be there too.
Apparently there was something with the spare cocoons for reeling, so my friends who were there got their bags of cocoons at the next meeting, two meetings ago when I was there.
Fran (OhZoneKnits on Rav) let me play with one of her cocoons. It took me all of 15 seconds to start picking at it and drafting out from it. This is not how you’re supposed to reel off of cocoons. But what do you know… it works!
Drafting…
Worked well enough (with my highly skilled finger spinning) that I even plied a bit!
Silk thread!
Hee.
Must resist taking up yet another hobby I have no time for. La la la! But SILK!
Thanks to Fran for taking and sharing the photos!
~The Gnome
From whence comes inspiration? All around us, child, all around if you but open your eyes…
From my backyard…
Anemone
Tulip
Iris
Pulmonaria (Lungwort)
Vinca
Bleeding Heart
Apple Blossom
See you soon!
~The Gnome
This is a little behind, but this is my latest finished spinning project.
It’s a 2-ply yarn, spun largely longdraw on Strider (my Schact-Reeves 30″) and then plied entirely on my bottom whorl Spindlewood.
For anyone curious how much you can fit on a spindle? Well… here’s an answer. This is a 1.5oz spindle to begin with. I have 4.2 ounces of yarn on it. There’s about 3/4″ of bare shaft left. By the end I was using it as a mix of bottom whorl and support spindle (a nice feature of the Spindlewood designs).
So… you can fit as much on a spindle as you can fit, and it’s almost always more than you think you can.
As usual, I don’t know what I’m going to do with this yarn. I spun it to play with Icelandic, which is a new fiber for me. Always new fibers to try. It’s an interesting fiber, and I can see why some people are in love with it! Don’t think it’ll replace others as my favorite fiber, but it’ll definitely have it’s place in my fiber arsenal.
EDIT: Teresa, this was an unpicked Icelandic (that is, thel and tog are together) from a sheep, rather than a lamb. It’s a durable yarn, would be good for a blanket. If you’re not too sensitive you could make knucks out of it. For me it’s a little too coarse for next-to skin. I could see making a heavy barn sweater out of it though. (though not from 4oz obviously).
~The Gnome
