400 Yards and Still Spinning

So far I’ve spun and plied 400 yards of Coopworth yarn — yes, Meredith, it is Coopworth, not Coopwhite as I earlier incorrectly reported.  Check out the pictures of Coopworth sheep here.  There’s a particularly cute lamb picture on the second row.  

I still have more roving left and I think I’ll get at least another 100 yards out of it. So now I’m on a quest to determine what to knit with it.  I really like the natural color, so I think for this first batch I’ll leave it undyed.

Spinning is so much fun.  I really do think I need some sheep. Well, maybe not now.  Someday?

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Walking Tour of D.C. Sock Yarn

The first installment of the D.C. Walking Tour Sock Club yarn arrived last week and it’s gorgeous.  It’s called “Cockscomb on Q” and the color inspiration comes from a cockscomb plant blossom in a flower box on Q Street.  Pretty clever.

 

I can’t wait to get started on the socks.  Karida has come up with an interesting pattern with little cables that is just for sock club members.  I have to fit these in with the continuing Christmas present making, however.  

I would like to get them done before the next installment in December, but it may be a stretch.  I am still working hard not to build up a stash.

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Red Scarf Is In the Mail

I sent off my finished scarf for the Red Scarf Project today.  It ended up being 7″ wide and 78″ long.  It’s a good thing I didn’t use all four balls of yarn.

Now I have one ball of this yummy Debbie Bliss Sublime yarn left and need to find a good one skein project to use it for.

I’ve been working on getting over a really bad cold, so I’ve not done much fiber or textile work this week. But I’m trying to get at least a little spinning and a little knitting in each day.  Sadly, my quilting, dyeing, and embroidery work has been put on the back burner for a while.  

I hope the quilting will be revived when I take a machine quilting class in a couple of weeks.  I have two small to medium size tops ready to be quilted.

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My Very First Hand Spun Yarn!

As promised here are the pictures of my very first hand spun yarn.  I know it’s taken a while for me to post them, but now that I’m finally through my church’s big annual meeting, I’m hoping I’ll be able to be a little more present on the blog.  Which means I’m also hoping I’ll manage to allot a little more time to fiber work.

This yarn is two-ply, which means I spun the yarn first from roving that looks like this:

The spun single-ply yarn is on the spool to the right and you can see how it wants to twist together with itself.  I couldn’t get it to lie straight, which means I actually put too much twist into it.  However, it did make pretty nice yarn.

I plied together two strands of spun yarn to get this:

The label on the roving package says this is Coopwhite from New Zealand.  I’m not sure what that is, but I’m going to look it up and see.  It was recommended by my spinning teacher, Jennie, for a beginning spinner.  

I’m still waiting for the llama fleeces my friend has promised me.  In the meantime, I’m continuing to work on Christmas presents.  I still have those Pomatomous socks on the needles, too.  I have a mistake somewhere that I have to tink back to correct, so they’re on hold for a while.

Oh, I also got my first installment of the Walking Tour of Washington, D.C. Sock Club from the Neighborhood Fiber Company.  It’s gorgeous! I’ll show the yarn a little later this week.  

So, when will I get those socks knit?  I don’t know, but I hope it’s soon, because they’re going to be so yummy.

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Cool Color Test

I’ve been off the blog for the last several days due to extreme busyness at work and a terrible cold that I came down with just as I’m preparing for the annual business meeting for my church.  ’Figures.

Anyway, I finished my spinning classes and bought a wheel of my very own.  I made my first 2-ply yarn which I’ll show in the next couple of days.  It turned out a lot nicer than I expected. 

I’m waiting for two! llama fleeces a friend has told me he’s going to get for me.  

I’m planning to block the “red” scarf today.

And I’m diligently working away on Christmas presents, which, of course, I cannot show.

No pictures today, but I did want to do a check-in.

In the meantime, check out this cool color test that my sister sent me.  It tests your ability to distinguish between hues.  It scores your results, with 0 being the lowest.  I scored an 11.  My sister scored a 22.  

Check it out and see what you scored.  I’d love a report back if you can take the time to do it.

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Red Scarf Completed–Almost

Yesterday I finished the knitting on my scarf for the Orphan Foundation of America Red Scarf project.  Now all I have to do is block it.  It was a fun scarf to knit with some fairly “mindless” knitting for relaxation and a little challenge in the cabled sections.

I’ve finished my second bobbin of spun wool and I think I’m getting the hang of it.  Unfortunately, I only have two bobbins so I can’t do any more until I go back to the shop on Wednesday.  

So yesterday I tried out my drop spindle again after several months of doing nothing with it and found it much easier to do having done the wheel spinning.  I wasn’t able to spend a lot of time with it so I don’t have anything to show yet, but the yarn is thinner and more evenly spun than my first attempts last May.

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Spinning

I took my first spinning class yesterday at The Woolery and had a lot of fun learning about how to “scour” wool and then beginning to spin.  

My friend Kay is in the class–we’re finding so much that we have in common–and it was great to meet Sherry.  We are going to have to find a common place to meet and spin and share our work.  

I’m renting a lovely little wheel called the Sonata by Kromski.  Very nice.  This will probably be what I buy when I’m able to purchase one.  Not only does it work nicely, but it folds up for traveling to classes and workshops.  I spun on the Polonaise in the shop, but thought this one would travel better.

I spent about an hour yesterday after I got home and spun this bobbin of yarn.  Some of it turned out pretty well, but some turned out too thick or too thin.  But the main thing is that I’m beginning to get the hang of it and occasionally can feel it when it’s working right.

 

My friends who spin are right, spinning is very calming and meditative.  Even, surprisingly, when you are first learning.

My goal is to get as much of the 16 ounces of roving spun as I can before the second class next Wednesday. Only problem is that I don’t know what to do once I’ve filled the two bobbins I have, so I’ll have to e-mail Jennie and see what she suggests.  I know this newly spun yarn will be plied, but I don’t think we’re supposed to try that yet.  

Off to do some more spinning!

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In Case You’re Wondering

No, I did not win the lottery and take off on a whirlwind global tour.  I’ve just been super busy at work–teaching, preaching, visiting, funeral conducting, planning, etc. and have not taken the time in my “just enough time” to write on my blog.  

The only fiber work I’ve accomplished has been more inches on my “red” scarf, but it doesn’t look any different, just longer, so no point in posting a picture.  I am about 2/3 of the way done, though.

Tomorrow I’m taking my first official spinning class, as if I had time to learn one more thing to do.  But I am really looking forward to it.  Maybe I’ll have something to post after the class.

I’ve gotten my reading list for my Doctor of Ministry program and have ordered the books.  Eight to be read by January.  My classes will be “Creativity and Spirituality” and “Drama for Ministry”.  ’Sounds fun.

Soooo…..blogging may not be very regular over the next couple of months as I try to finish Christmas presents–which of course, I can’t blog about–and work on preparing for my January intensive classes.  To say nothing of my regular work and getting ready for Advent and Christmas.  

My mantra will be:  justenoughtime, justenoughtime…..

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