Spin Span Spun Ram Lamb Hat

Hat knit from 2 strands of unspun Gulf Coast ram lamb with the occasional short flick of jet black alpaca. Size 8 circ and dpns were used. This was made for our 8 month old grandson who lives in RI.

This lamb’s fleece was still heavy with lanolin, sticky to work with. Lovely. Quite a bit of VM made the carding a slow process. Howard hand cards to the rescue.  The Fricke made the spinning a crazy fast enterprise. First, the rolags were predrafted into a very thin roving. Then, bobbin #1 was filled with a tightly spun single. Finally, the singles yarn was unspun evenly and rapidly. After knitting, the hat was given a cold water wash with Woolite. It is very soft and very thick with an elegant drape, and smells sweet now, not quite so cheesy rammy, but thankfully, it has retained a bit of the ram aroma.

The lamb fiber is from Laurie A of Silk Hope, the alpaca from Susan T of Dare to Dream Alpacas.

Florida Cherry goes to Baton Rouge

Here’s a (too) soft focus shot of a cherry bottom whorl Hogie sold in my etsy shop. This one was rubbed with tung oil before being sent to Baton Rouge to a woman whose dog ate her last spindle. Here’s hoping Fido doesn’t have an appetite for bamboo and cherry.

Yartie

Inspired by that colorful BFL top from Spunky E, I decided to make a tweed from a variety of textures and colors that were, well, starting to accumulate on the oriental rug. After scooping up locks and bits of rovings and snippets of yarns, I started blending on the ol’ Howard handcards. Realized halfway in to the project that the yarn was looking a lot like Artemis, aka Artie J Catt.

So, as she napped on the chest that I use as a spinning chair, I took a few pictures. Here she is saying…”Yarn, shmarn, that’s not my idear of a t-t-t-treat, Mom. But, lookit! Lookit, Mom! Idn’t this worth some fish paste?”

This is 2 oz and 106 yd of Yartie Yarn. It’s a blend of Gulf Coast, Mohair, Alpaca, Corriedale, and Shetland. It’s all either natural or naturally dyed…with the exception of a couple smidges of that turquoise blue BFL from the Spunky E top.

Bright Highway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I bought my Fricke from Spunky Eclectic, I was sent a 4oz hunk of BFL top handpainted a la “Route 66.” Not exactly my style, this acid dyed wool, but, for a little spinning practice, I say…what the heck. By the time the 4oz was spun and plied, my hands were getting that oookey feeling that comes from exposure to stuff I don’t like to touch. Sure is pretty though. This worked out to 414 yd…19wpi. Here’s a close-up…

Home Invasion

Heard this clumping out there on the steps. Guess who. That’s Sally and Holly, aka The Ladies. They were coming to check out the new additions…the 25 RI Red chicks who are  living in a converted dog crate on the porch. Not that they like hanging around with chickens. They just like chicken feed. Pity the poor chicken who doesn’t see The Ladies comin’! See those horns? Well.

New Yarns New Knits

So, this spinning wheel thing has me workin’ away.  Here’s a shot of some pretty 2-ply Border Leicester…it’s listed as Rosy Sunrise on my dovesroost etsy store.

This is 3oz – 70yd of heavy silky soft mmmm…

I’ve been selling fingerless gloves at the farmers market too. So I put a couple pairs in the etsy store. Here are some striped guys. I make them of natural cream or brown Gulf Coast Native too.

These are knit from handspun that was handdyed with a variety of plants…marjoram, annatto, and there’s some of that little ol’ cochineal bug in there too. Natural cream and natural brown Gulf Coast and some brown Gulf Coast plied with auburn alpaca rounds out the handspun.

Not a Chainsaw

The newest member of the family is a yet unnamed Fricke S-160. Tuesday, the busiest day of the week, Mr UPS brought la Fricke to the gate. I’ve been trying all kinds of things. Gawsh. It’s been so long since I’ve had the occasion to sit at a wheel. I’ve just evolved into a spindly old gal.

That said…this little ol’ machine is providing me with a ton of fun! At least a ton!

Here are some pictures of what I’ve been doing…

The top skein is a mohair blend 2-ply 11wpi. I spun 2 skeins of that yarn, one  3 oz that came in at 126 yds and a 3 1/2 oz skein of 148 yd. That yarn, Speckled Hen, weighs 60g and is 70 yd.

The bottom skein is a totally scrunchy springy yarn. It is a 2-ply Gulf Coast – cream and brown, with a few slubs of jet black alpaca thrown in for good measure.

Here’s the fiber I used for the next experiment. The yellow orange on the left is Gulf Coast dyed with marigold, the orange is Gulf Coast dyed with coreopsis. The tan is Border Leicester dyed with sumac. The lemon yellow is Border Leicester dyed with goldenrod. Center rolags are a blend of the two Gulf Coast colors.

This is a bobbin with 2 oz 28wpi Gulf Coast blend spun from those golden rolags.

After spinning another 2 oz of singles of the Gulf Coast blended with the Border Leicester, I plied the two together, and came out with 3 3/4 oz, 228 yd, 19wpi of this fine golden yarn. It has not yet been washed, but I expect it will bloom. That Border Leicester grows a nice halo.

So…I’m getting to know this little ol’ Fricke. One piece of delightful trivia…the spinning wheel carries a guarantee…the wheel is warranteed for the life of the manufacturer. Isn’t that great? Love it. Thanks for the good work Mr Fricke!

Hogie Crossing

Hogies aka Bottom Whorl Spindles by Tom Hogan.

L-R Whorls & Weights: Cedar, 15g (great for cotton, unsupported); Birch, 30g; Natural Southern Pine, 35g; Southern Pine, 40g; Walnut, 30g; Walnut 30g; Maple 55g (perfect plying spindle)

My walnut Hogie in a basket of spindlespun Gulf Coast Native yarns.

Here’s my walnut spindle whorl up close. It has a Danish oil finish, very smooth and natural. We sell these spindles at our farmers’ market for $16 – $20. They come with a hunk of roving and a lesson.

These bottom whorl drop spindles spin long and true. No wobbling. At all. The notches are perfect. If you are a spinner of heavy yarns, Tom can carve a big notch for you. Likewise, if you spin laceweight, you want to ask for a small notch. These spindles are made after the one I used back in 1972 at West Dean College in Arundel (Sussex) England where I studied spinning, dyeing, and weaving. Actually, I still have that spindle…and it still spins like a top. I’ve spun many a sweater’s worth of yarn on that old spindle.

Holly & Sally Weather the Storm

Miss Sally hasn’t been this clean since she was two weeks old. Even her ears are clean. Quite amazing. Here she is, rummaging around on the ground looking for chicken feed. She sure loves chicken feed. Who wouldn’t. We feed the birds an alfalfa and corn mix. Out of the frame, but never far away, is Holly, Sally’s twin sister. The rain did wonders for their fleece. Well, on their backs, that is.

The girls had their hair parted down the middle by the rain. This is Sally. There’s a picture of her buttery yellow fleece down below. Well, she sure does clean up good. Anybody who thinks you need to scour in hot hot water with detergent is just plain mistaken. Without all the dust, boy, this is one soft fleece. The tips are not hard, by the way. Very nice indeed.

Here’s my dirty girl. Luscious.