Swatching spun yarn, swatching needle sizes, and swatching for yarn consumption- this project is all about swatching. Step One: Swatching yarn. I created different yarns to test- some semiworsted, others worsted. The goal was fine yarn with some loft and a faint halo. I tried BFL, cormo, merino, and shetland top. My BFL spun nicely… Continue reading Muness Shawl: The Big Swatch
The Muness Shawl pattern by Sharon Miller is simply put: amazing. It's amazingly beautiful. Amazingly complex. Amazingly out of my comfort zone. Covid has reared it's ugly head again (re-reared? re-re-reared?) Bob is still working in the studio. Construction is still delayed for my folk's house. I needed a project that won't explode across the… Continue reading Big Project, Small Footprint
The wool along Rysa's sides was some of the most interesting to process. It is nice and soft and has a surprising amount of luster considering the disorganized crimp and the weathering. Here's the wool after washing. There is still enough lanolin in the wool to make spinning quick and easy. I'll wash the skein… Continue reading Rysa and the 6 Skeins: The Side
Who decided that Shetland was a good idea for this challenge? Oh, right. Here's me paying the price. I only had 50ish grams of washed belly wool to work with and a good part of that was grass and felted bits. The fiber is tender in spots, so I tested frequently as I picked. I… Continue reading Rysa & the 6 Skeins: The Belly Wool
Meet Rysa. She's a lovely bellwether Shetland ewe at Trinity Farms. Today I am separating out her fleece to make six different skeins of yarn- one from each of the following body areas: neck, sides, britch, belly, shoulders, back. My goal is to spin for a purpose suitable to the fiber characteristics. I'm going to spin… Continue reading Rysa and the 6 skeins
Spindles In the Wild 