A Few Updates

Still lots of spinning and knitting going on...still LOTS of spinning and knitting to go - until what? Am I running a race? Sometimes it feels like it - and I just keep falling further and further behind the leaders - whoever 'they' are.

The spinning of the Border Leicester is moving slowly along - I have found this fiber, because it is so coarse, somewhat painful to spin for a long time...it actually rubs my fingers a little sore if I spin with it too long. I have about 3 or 4 more pounds of it to spin - maybe I should wear protective gloves - NOT! And I really have not even made an in-road with the Dorset which is much more pleasant to spin - there is only so much time in a day and I do other things with my life as well (like all of you who read my blog) - like knit and read and attend concerts and garden and keep a home and work and try to keep up with Tea-and-Roses (not too successfully since I have become a fiber-junkie) and cook and blog and Tweet and, and, and...

I finished the Double Bubble socks for my grand niece's birthday - only a month late; but I think she will like them. The Booga Bag is felted and my current sock project fits perfectly in it. I can see these being knit as future gift items for family and friends. If I expect to have any for Christmas (of 2009), I better start knitting them yesterday! Although the kniting is quick & so is the felting and it is a fun and rewarding project.; the whole thing still takes time!

I am still following the preparations for Sock Summit 2009 (aka SS09) with envy and I voted in the 'Dye for Glory' contest; there are some absolutley gorgeous sock yarns exhibited on the Ravelry pages. If you are a Ravelry member go to this link http://www.ravelry.com/socksummit and cast your vote in each of the categories. Of course, I want to own many of the entries but realized today that I have EIGHT different brown colored sock yarns, all gorgeous & all hand-dyed, in my stash right now. And that doesn't count all the other sock yarns I have that are just in the brownish-family or were bought to make socks for someone else...like the beautiful 'David's Eyes' (Cascade Heritage Sock yarn) I just bought to knit a pair for my DH (aka David). PS The yarn does match his eyes.

Long story short: I am addicted to hand-dyed sock yarn and I can't stop buying it even though I now have enough that if I knit a pair of socks a month (which I won't) it would take me almost 4 years to knit up my stash; that is, if I can refrain from buying anymore hand-dyed sock yarn (which I won't)! HELP! Is there a 'Sock-Knitter's Anonymous' out there anywhere?

Breaking News

'The Fleece Connection' has been renamed (after only two weeks of existence!?!).

We are now officially known as...

"IT TAKES A FLEECE"

Now we just need to design a logo and we are ready to take it to the next level...whatever that will be...Stay Tuned!

PS. With 'Thanks to HRC

From Fleece to Fiber Presentation

This past Tuesday, we (friend of the 8 fleeces and I) gave our presentation to our local knitting guild chapter and, happily, it was a great success. The ladies came out in force and seemed quite interested in all we had to say. I had built a PowerPoint presentation of the steps in the process going from the sheared fleece to a finished project. In the case of the Border Leicester, a gorgeous purse Peggy knit from our fleece's yarn was lined with silk and even had a label with our endeavors' name 'The Fleece Connection'. We also had on display the various stages the fleece goes through from 'in-the-grease; cold-washed; hot washed; teased & picked; hand-carded; drum-carded; spun singles; 2-ply worsted weight yarn; skeined; a ball ready for knitting and the finished swatch (in Peggy's case the wonderful purse). Everything looked quite impressive laid out on tables and shown together in a basket...but we think most of the ladies would probably just head to their LYS for their yarn. I gave a spinning demonstration which was also very well-received and the entire proceeding had lots of energy...we were pleased that every one enjoyed it.

The Dorset was not left out, although being white without lots of lustre or sheen, it definitely takes a back seat to the Leicester (which my English friend Paula remined me was pronounced 'Less-ter' not 'Lye-ster'...try as I might-I really am not a Brit.
Not being as creative as Peggy, my swatch looked exactly like a...SWATCH. The drum-carded Dorset is truly gorgeous however, it looks like puffy white clouds. I am spinning this at closer to an Aran weight and the swatch did make us all say 'Aran sweater'. This is the fleece we have the most of and a lot of it will be in the dye pots we are planning for later in the Summer or eartly Autumn...another endeavor of 'The Fleece Connection'. Who knows where all of this will lead us...but we are having fun, even though it is very time-consuming to go from 'Fleece to Fiber'. Going through this entire process (the only thing we have not done is raise & shear the sheep) certainly does give you an appreciation for the time when there were no yarn shops!

From Fleece to Swatch

Friend Peggy (she of the 8 bags of free fleece) and I have agreed to make a presentation at our next knitting guild meeting. We spent hours on it today and have more to go but we have moved ahead. Peggy brought a skein of plied & washed hand-spun Border Leicester home (see photo) with her so she can swatch it before the meeting on Tuesday and I have plied a bobbin of Dorset which I will skein & wash (to set the twist) tomorrow and then I will swatch that. It is really getting more exciting now that we have some REAL yarn to play with!

The gorgeous Gotland fleece I purchased at Woolbearers in Mt. Holly, NJ has been put on the back-burner as I work on the pounds & pounds & pounds & pounds of Border Leicester & Dorset fleece and while all of this is fun and a great learning experience, I really will not do this much work again to get roving to spin...unless the sheep in question is BROWN!!

Special Deliveries

While I have been away from blogging (mostly because it kept raining & I couldn't take any pictures to share) I received two very unexpected and very special packages. The first box was sitting on our screened-in porch after we returned from a hectic day of being out-and-about and not coming home with everything we set out to get which I always find very frustrating and time-wasting. The box was ultra-light for its size and the return address read Lladyhawk Llamas & Lavender...aha! could it be?? Yes, it was!! a box of 3 gorgeous, soft-like-clouds fully processed llama fiber batts. I immediately called my dear cousin (DC) - she the owner of Lladyhawk - and profusely thanked her. She had just had her llamas shorn and, knowing my love of all colors brown and that I have become a fanatical spinster, she packed up about 10-ounces and sent it to me. Now...what will I do with this treasure? Spin each color separately or blend them all together & spin a tweedy yarn or blend each with one of my sheep rovings or together...or...or...decisions, decisions...but very nice decisions. Thanks again, DC.

A couple of days later, we were again out-and-about again (we do that a lot it seems) and, again, when we returned we found a mystery box on our porch. The return address told me it was from a very good 'tea-business-related' friend who now lives in SC (look for her on the web at The Cat-Tea Corner and be sure to check out TeaGuide and her CraftTea Designs...scarfs, t-shirts & pillow covers she has dyed with tea!). This box, too, was very light for its size and when we opened it, out popped ALPACA fleece in shades of...you guessed it...brown & beige...I guess my favorite color is not a mystery to anyone. Also included in this very special package were a card with a tea-bag (China White Mint) attached and a skein of already spun and plied Alpaca (I will make a lace scarf from this yarn...she how brave I have become about YOs! Thank you, dear Rita!)...WOW! The card informed me that the fleece had been sheared just 2 weeks ago at an alpaca farm near her home and that the lighter colored fleece was from Kudzu and the darker was from Knight...I love connecting with my 'fleece' by knowing their names. This 4-ounces of fiber needs to washed and carded and I look forward to the process as I have never prepared Alpaca fiber.

So now I have llama and alpaca to spin along with the pounds and pounds of Border Leicester and Dorset AND all the other rovings I bought at Maryland Sheep & Wool and Rhinebeck last year - I had best chain myself to my spinning wheel and spin and spin and spin and ply and ply and ply and then knit and knit and knit and, oh yes, throw in some carding. I was under the impression that I became involved in all of this because I didn't want a job?!? I had better brew some of the China White Mint tea and sit back and relax before I tackle all this fiber - there is always tomorrow...and tomorrow...and tomorow and.....

The Dreaded YOs

I finally 'bit-the-bullet' so to speak by taking my first lesson in lace knitting (or is it, knitting lace?). I have always had difficulties with yarn-overs and avoid them at all costs. I decided to finally 'grow-up' and address my nemesis; and not the least, many sock patterns I want to knit have yarn-overs and I LOVE to knit socks. So I asked a very accomplished lace-knitting friend to give me a lesson in YOs. I realize it is not so much making the YO...that is easy enough; my problem arises when I come back the other way and have to knit...in the case of the pattern I am using, purl...into the YOs from the previous row. My friend, knowing I like both cats and history, chose the perfect first lace pattern for me: Elizabeth Lovick's Cat's Paw Scarf, which is a traditional Estonian lace pattern stitch. I am generally not a 'lacy-type' of person but this pattern appealed. For the lesson, I brought some stunning Merino light sock yarn in a gorgeous shade of brown (those of you that know me will not be surprised by my yarn color choice), a size US#5, 16" Addi Turbo needle, cute stitch markers from MDKnits and as much courage as I could summon to face the 'dreaded YOs'! Everything went very well as I cast-on 34 stitches (the yarn was slippery...not a good sign for my first lace attempt)...twice, and then k 5 rows...so far-so-good. Then I tackled the first row that had yarn-overs...under the keen & learned eye of my very patient teacher, success was mine! A full row containing...count them... EIGHT YOs, I was on a roll! By the end of the lesson I had completed 6 pattern rows making the complete Cat's Paw which could easily be seen when the scarf was stretched a bit. I thanked my friend & teacher profusely and headed home with my new skill in and 11 row scarf in tow. I was sure I had mastered the art of the YO. I was too cocky, too soon...what was I thinking...a 2 hour lesson made my an expert??? Not!!

That evening I sat down calmly and picked up the scarf, confident in my newly found ability to not shudder & shake at the thought of a YO...instead, I should have been trembling!. The first row went smoothly, the second row was a little bumpy & I had to frog most of the stitches. I persevered and the next 2 rows went pretty well...although all of my confidence had vanished by now...and then DH comes into the room asking me how many miles I had put on my car over the past 12 months? What??? I lost my place and had to frog that row....grrrr. Deep breath, tell DH not to talk to me until I come out of my knitting-space...he shakes his head & sighs (he knows how 'relaxing' I find knitting)...and I start the next row...which turns out to be a disaster! it is not even a YO row, it is a plain purl row...but I must purl into the YOs from the previous row and THAT is what I just cannot do succesfully every time. I wound up with 5 extra stitches by the end of the row :-( and when I tried to frog it, I could not figure out which were the YO's and which were the K2tog or SKPs...and so, I think, I will have to rip out the entire 17 rows and start all over again! But I will prevail, I will outsmart the dreaded YOs without a nervous breakdown! Maybe if I brew a cup of Lladyhawk Tea and sip it as I think calming thoughts, I might be able to sleep tonight.

Knitting Connections

Last evening at my knitting circle (aka 'Purls of Wisdom') there were two new members. We are always happy to expand our merry group and welcomed them with open arms and smiling faces. As the conversations swirled, one of the new members looked at me and said, "I know you from somewhere". I had been thinking the same about her. She then said, "A B&B in Connecticut". I exclaimed, "Under Mountain Inn". Yes, saith she. Seems we (DH & I) had spent a lovely long weekend with this new member of Purls, her husband and mutual friends at this inn over 14 years ago. She had also worked in the same company as my DH many years ago, as had her DH. Talk about coincidence's. We were thrilled to re-connect. And it was knitting that made it happen!

Still knitting on the 'two-at-a-time-toe-up-on-one-circular-needle' that I intend to send my great-niece for her 10th birthday next month. It is a really fun pattern (Double Bubble) to knit and the yarn is perfect for my GN, but I really have to spend a lot more time knitting over the next couple of days to complete them in time for her birthday...and I don't have much time over the next couple of days to do just that. I must become a faster knitter...or stop doing so many other things...not! Perhaps one could comment that if I spent less time 'blogging' and more time knitting then I would be further along on the socks...and one would be correct!

Also still carding and spinning the gorgeous silver Border Leicester...have 22-ounces spun but not plied with many, many, many, many more ounces to go. And then we start on the white Dorset and Border Leicester. And that will also coincide with our (friend, DH & me) foray into dyeing with natural dye stuffs...Yeah! Am very excited about that. Other news...on Monday I am to have my first 'lace-knitting' lesson from a Purls of Wisdom friend. Oh, yes...I WILL master those dreaded YOs!!