More dyeing, more spinning - too many decisions

We had a very nice Thanksgiving. First we went to my mom's house for turkey and ham and all the fixings. There was even some of my son's pheasant that my brother had cooked up in the dutch oven. There were a lot of people there (I think 15 or 16 of us), and my mom's house is pretty tiny - but a good time was had by all. There were even babies to cuddle with! This is my nephew Zane - he just had his first birthday, and is walking very unsteadily on his own.

Then we went to the BBE's nephew's house, they'd already eaten - but there was plenty of dessert left by the time we got there.



It was a beautiful sunny morning on Thursday so I was able to get pictures of all the fibers that I dyed last weekend. I've already spun up the 8 ozs of Kid Merino (it's easier than typing kid mohair/merino blend).

I've got half a bobbin full of the tussah silk pictured here (last time you saw it - it looked like brains!) that I'm planning on plying with it. I still haven't decided if I'm going to do a 3 or 4 ply yarn. I guess it just depends on how much patience I can muster up. I love the two fibers together! Also, the kid merino is so soft and wonderful - I don't want to lost that in the yarn. But then again, I'm not sure what I will do with the 4 ozs of the tussah silk if I don't incorporate it all into one yarn... decisions.




On the right is 8 ozs of a superwash merino that I'm thinking will look nice plied with the mystery wool (probably about another 8 ozs) that I picked up at the Spindles and Flyers guild meeting and also got thrown in the dye pot last weekend. Or it might just become something on it's own (more decisions) But it sure is fun! I do love dyeing and playing with fiber!

The Mystery fiber is very spongy, and sproingy - whatever it's going to be, I'm sure it will be fun to spin. I don't normally like spongy sproingy roving - but I think I will like this stuff.








Next up we have 8 ozs of CVM that I dyed in a blue/green colourway. I dyed this in a tall vase - poured some green in the bottom - stuffed roving in - poured some blue on top of that - and just kept layering and pouring in alternating colors of dye. 8 ozs of wool was probably way too much to put into this size of a vase - so there are a lot of areas which didn't take the dye - but I really like that you can still see the natural oatmeal color within the roving. I am really looking forward to spinning this up - it might just be the next in my queue after the kid merino/silk stuff is plied up. I might just throw some silk that I dyed up in my last dye day (at the end of August)

Let's see... I also dyed some more Optim - mmmm Optim! It is just such a wonderful fiber - If you ever see any just touch it - you will have to take some home with you. I didn't try to match the Optim that I've already spun. But think that they might just have to end up in the same project together... at least I know I should have enough yarn to do something with.

I did go ahead and swatch the Optim that I spindle spun - even went so far as to knit the first couple of inches, to maybe make it into a design for a top that I've got kicking around in my head (and even scribbled out on paper). But decided that this particular yarn wasn't exactly right for that particular pattern. I decided that the tomato red merino/tencel blend would work nicely though so I've started knitting a new top for myself - but am thinking that I want to try to submit it somewhere, so probably won't be showing it off. I know - how boring! Not fun - but a lot of places do not want ot have had the design showed off anywhere else if they're going to take on the pattern.

Seems like there should be more than this to show everyone - but I just can't leave off this post without this picture of the kid merino on the bobbins - it's just kind of phartsy - and y'all know how I like my pretty pictures!

I'm so enjoying not having to go to work! The BBE just asked me if it was Sunday - nope! It's still Saturday :-) Whoo Hoo!

I'm planning on going out to lunch and shopping with my daughter in just a bit - she just had her 20th birthday! And we haven't really had a chance to celebrate yet, so that will be nice. We're planning on going to lunch, and then shopping for shoes. Not that she needs shoes - but that's what she wants, and it's her birthday.

And I will leave you with how I kind of feel - I captured this little guy gathering pollen the other day - no idea what the flower is called. But I don't know if I've ever seen a bee more heavily laden down with pollen.