Thankspinning
There has been much spinning and much dyeing. How can you not be thankful when you wake up in the morning and see this in the living room:
I’ve decided that I love, love, love Blue-Faced Leicester (BFL). It’s said to be the softest of the long wools and takes up dye beautifully. It’s much less prone to felt than merino and fluffs up amazingly when you pre-draft it. Awesome, I say. The top-left and bottom-right corners of the photo are BFL. The pink/brown and the red/orange/brown fibre is Superwash Merino — another new favourite. I love things that don’t felt!
And yes, there’s more sock yarn in the shop… along with some new handspun yarn. Like this merino wool that was dyed by the Fleece Artist:
Singles are crazy when they come off the bobbin — then you set the twist and they straighten out and behave themselves nicely! I’d love to keep this skein, but I know, being a “Winter”, it’s just not my colour!?! sob…
I need to get these yarns off the bobbins (or buy more bobbins!). The multicoloured bobbin at the bottom is the above merino bulky singles. The two orange/gold coloured bobbins are also Fleece Artist merino (courtesy of my brother!) and I might ply the two together. In the top-right hand corner is a bobbin of superwash merino that I dyed blue/navy/brown. I’ve since Navajo-plied that one for socks!
And finally, that’s my spinning class homework. That’s right. _Homework_. It’s a four-ply cabled yarn and took about 6 or 7 hours to spin! Crazy. I spun four very fine singles in “Fleece Artist 70% Kid/30% Silk”, then two-plied two singles, then two-plied the 2-plys together! _Phew_. It’s about 12 wpi which is now “worsted” weight. Wow. I think this week, we are spinning merino/tencel in class!
Oh yeah, there was knitting this weekend too — I am 3 rows (and a bazillion ends) from finishing Electra.
Tags: four-ply cabled yarn, handspun
Your yarn is lovely. Do you have any machine washable (superwash) sock yarns?
Fantastic! I check your blog every day to keep up with your dyeing and spinning adventures. I wish I had enough time to keep my Lendrum spinning as well. The thick/thin single is just yummy – who needs Colinette Point 5!
Your cabled yarn looks positively yummy. I have not quite gotten the hang of crepe yarn yet – it’s on my list (along with charkha spinning!).
Wow you really were busy this weekend! I Love all the wonderful rich colors on the fiber. Ohh BFL is just a dream to dye and spin. I jsut need to say, your yarns are absolutely amazing.
Wow Felicia! Thanks for the lovely yarn photos to ogle after Thanksgiving! Looks like you spent the weekend spinning…did you have time for turkey?
Oooh, yummy! I love the one with the sage greens, burnt reds and golds.. it looks like a fall tree
Glad you like Harvest.. we should open up a dye shop together… what a dream 
I think I’m addicted to the little thrill I get every time I come to your site and see the riots of color in your beautiful photographs. As always – amazing stuff!
You’ve been a busy little spinner! Wow. That’s some beautiful yarn – I’m constantly amazed at your talent.
love the cabled kid/silk yarn! so beautiful!!
Looking at all that yarn and fiber is hypnotizing.. must.. get.. back.. to.. work.
Beautiful! I always enjoy seeing the fruits of your labor–the yarn as well as the photography.
So much fibery goodness! I just want to lick the screen. It makes me want to take up spinning myself, but I will resist the urge, knowing I could not produce such wonderful things myself. Beautiful!
Holy crap…all those look super yummy! You are doing an amazing job and must be so proud that you have such a great eye for color! I can’t wait to learn how to spin!
I love the color combinations you come up with. I wish I was a little quicker at getting to the sweet shop before all of the sweets are gone.
Groan………your stuff is so beautiful!!!!I will be you when I grow up!!!! You do inspire!
Thanks for the lovely pictures.
The colors are absolutely stunning!!!
Great job! I love the sock yarns you made. The 4-ply homework looks amazing. Oh, how I would love to dye, spin, and ply. My lesson isn’t till Nov 5, so I will just have to wait to make great things like you.
I have to agree that BFL is the best fiber EVER! LOL! It’s pretty much all I spin when I’m spinning yarn to make something for myself, so soft, so easy to spin, takes up the dye like a champ. It’s a real winner *smile*
gah! looks great alll of it!!
oh no! did I already miss the brown and pink ones?! I may have to ask for a custom order ; )
You will be my inspiration tonight as I battle the ever-hateful Gaywool dyes in the kitchen. I am seriously in awe.
You are now my spinning/dying role model! If my stuff looked a tenth as great as yours I’d be estatic!
Keep up the good work!
I have no idea what “setting the twist” means but that curly, loopy yarn would make an awesome scarf just in a simple stitch! I am intrigued – where can I get yarn that has not been “set”?
Gorgeous Yarn!
I just love everything that you´ve made! And you learned all this spinning stuff really fast! I would order so much yarn from you, if only the postal costs would be more reasonable (I know this is not your fault..). Have to wait until I get more money!
Your photographs are stunning! I don’t know anything about spinning, but you make it sound very interesting. And those colours… yummy!
Beautiful! You’ve become an amazing pro at this.
I always find it hard to beleive that fluff becomes the lovely skeins of yarn after spinning. I’d love to see the process one day. Very interesting.
Btw, thanks for your tips on my upcoming dying adventure. Should be fun.
I’m in awe! I can’t believe the progression of that yarn- it’s amazing. It’s like magic. If you had written you threw a sheep into a cauldron and the spun yarn came out two days later- I would be equally amazed as I am now.
(and ever eage for Halloween it would appear
hmm)
It seems like you just started spinning yesterday WOW. Those colours are beautiful!
So incredibly beautiful!
They are all so lovely! What great photos!
I love your colorways, they are inventive and yummy. You make it look like fun, I find myself dangerously tempted to see what I can produce. I bet I’d be happier just working with yours.
Have to say that everything is beautiful!
Gorgeous color work – You have a very good eye for pleasing combinations. How to you manage to keep the color transitions from getting muddied?
Beeyootiful!
My first post
Your site is so much yarn porn!
I love all those colors you’re spinning. And I’m a “fall”, so those greens and browns have me salivating all over the keybooard.
Those don’t happen to be Lendrum bobbins, hmmmm?
I love all of it but especially the Mermaid 46 … wow … fabulous!
..wooww….
such lovely dye work. Awesome!
And that pink cabled yarn is *too* beautiful.
So pretty! Your eye for color is amazing!
At this pace, you’ll need to get more bobbins! That four ply is beautiful, but it does seem like a lot of work.
Thankspinning Indeed!! Gorgeous stuff…
Beautiful stuff, I love BFL I can’t seem to buy enough of it!
Beautiful! I wish the pink/brown merino was mine. I love the colours!
I’m just beginning to spin, and your spinning just amazes me! Practice makes perfect I guess. I’ll have to see if I can get my hands on some of that BFL that everyone keeps gushing about.
Good site! -fioricet-