The week before last, I finished a “raw fleece to finished object” knitting project using some of the raw fleece from Akoya the Icelandic ram (Ballyhoo Fiber Emporium, Kentucky). The project started as a traditional Icelandic shawl, but it seemed to be taking too long, so I made a neck warmer/shawlett instead since it was a triangle shawl pattern.
This might be too itchy for some people, since I spun the tog and thel together, but it’s fine for me since I’m not super sensitive to wools in the 30+ micron count range.
I only thought I was finished buying raw fleeces for 2021…
I’ve added at least a dozen more since the last time I posted about my raw fleece stash, mostly CVM, CVM/Merino, Icelandic, and Gulf Coast Native fleeces–but I also have at least one more on the way (an impulse buy off FB marketplace).
So, my fiber room is full–along with half of my storage shed (which houses the fleeces that need more skirting). I’m seriously considering sending some of it to a mill, but I haven’t decided which one yet.
I will be offering some of it for sale at a Worldwide Spin in Public Day event at Hook A Frog Fiber & Fun (Madison, AL) on Sat., Sept. 18th.
Raw fleeces, June 20213/4 of Raw fleeces acquired in 2021 (as of August 20, 2021)
Gulf Coast Native fleeces from Alchemy Farms
6 pounds of Weatherwax, Icelandic ram, from Ballyhoo Fiber Emporium
Solar Dyed Osage Scarf is off the loom using yarn from indie dyer/hand spinner Flamingmeatloaf Fibers: Fingering weight yarn (Colorado fiber/locally milled), solar dyed with Osage. Check her out at www.Flamingmeatloaffibers.com
From Flamingmeatloaf Fibers:
“Dyed during the hottest days of the summer using the heat from the sun and Osage to create a bright color with added depth by overdyeing grey. Merino/CVM with a touch of Wensleydale added for strength and luster. Yarn is from a small family farm in Colorado and milled locally in SLC”.
The scarf took exactly 2 ounces, leaving me enough yarn to do another identical scarf with the remaining yarn–which is good because I’m definitely keeping one of them for myself since this yarn is my favorite color.
The last couple of weeks have been a bit wild, but now that I’m on the other side, I can post my latest finished projects + latest yarn additions to my stash. If you’d like more details on any of my projects, check out my portfolio on Ravelry. My username is ‘southernemma’.
Yesterday’s natural dyeing project: I decided to dye my ‘Raw Fleece to Finished Object’ Dorset Horn woven scarf using an avocado pit and onion skins (both red + yellow skins). The result is a peachy-pink color. All of the pictures were taken in natural light, but one looks darker because it was taken in a different part of the house.
Original, undyed scarf
August 10 weaving project: Cotton/Merino Scarf in Neutral Colors
August 6 weaving project: Noro Wool/Silk/Mohair blend in autumnal colors
August 6 knitting project:Juno Jumper for Chloe using Brown Sheep Lanaloft (100% wool)
I visited Thread in Florence, Alabama–a fabric/yarn shop–on August 13th and picked up some local handspun yarns (one of which contains dog hair in the blend), along with my favorite hand lotion bar from Love + Leche (cedarwood scent).
I also ordered some solar dyed Osage yarn from an emerging indie dyer/ hand spinner from Salt Lake City, Utah, Flamingmeatloaf Fibers. She has her own blend of Merino/CVM/Wensleydale yarns from Colorado sheep that she has milled locally. It arrived on Saturday (with a free mini-skein) and I’m anxious to get it on my loom.
I also picked up 6 more Gulf Coast Native raw fleeces on Friday from Alchemy Farms since I’ll be selling some of the GCN fiber I already have at the upcoming events I’m participating in.
This week’s weaving project used a merino/cashmere/silk blend tweedy yarn in autumnal colors. I was going to weave a solid color for warp/weft, but after getting it on the loom, I decided a second color was needed. I used the same yarn blend for the second yarn, but it was a different weight.
I also sampled some raw fleece I received from Ballyhoo Fiber Emporium with the purchase of new hand combs. The pound of fleece I received was from “Weatherwax” an Icelandic ram. After processing about 6 ounces of it and spinning a sample, I decided to purchase the rest of the fleece (about 6 pounds) and it arrived today.
I also decided to purchase a new drop spindle from Greensleeves Spindles after seeing them on The Soulful Spinner‘s Youtube channel. It arrived last week, but I haven’t devoted a great deal of time to it yet. It’s very light compared to my other drop spindles, so I’m nervous about dropping it. It’s handmade from Australian Red Gum/Birdseye Maple for the whorl and Mahogany for the shaft.
Handspun raw fleece sample from “Olwen” Icelandic/Balwen Welsh Mountain cross from Ballyhoo Fiber Emporium (Kentucky). 47g; 82 yards of worsted/Aran 2-ply yarn. 🐑
This yarn is next-to-skin soft—something I wouldn’t have expected from an Icelandic cross fleece, but that just goes to show how different each fleece can be from the next.
Olwen is the daughter of Icelandic ram, Akoya, whose fleece I also bought from Ballyhoo Fiber Emporium this year. Her mother was a Balwen Welsh Mountain ewe, a breed I hadn’t worked with before. (I have worked with Black Welsh Mountain before and didn’t enjoy it at all).)
Yesterday, I wanted to work up a quick weaving project using some of my handspun yarn from before the Tour de Fleece. Since I had plenty of yardage, I chose the Jacob humbug yarn that I spun in the spring. I bought the fiber from Hearthside Fibers along with several other wool breeds I hadn’t spun before. My yield for the Jacob wool was 228 yards of worsted/aran weight 2-ply from 118 grams of commercially prepared combed top.
I used a moderately spaced warp (4 ends, skip 2 ends) in order to get the flexibility and drape I wanted since this was a heavier weight yarn.
The finished scarf weighed around 90g and used about 174 yards of yarn.
Both of the scarves below were woven using Round Mountain Fibers Superwash Merino handdyed yarns, but the twist on the second yarn was much tighter and the resulting scarf was much rougher to the touch than the first one. I have a boatload of these yarns, but I’ll be knitting with them in the future.
1st scarf (very soft, but fabric not as stable as I would like)
Very rough feeling for merino, and very unstable fabric
Raw fleece to finished object: Dorset Horn scarf from Tour de Fleece handspun yarn off the loom this morning (68g; 160 yards (DK/Worsted). 🐑
I really enjoyed spinning Dorset Horn from the raw fleeces I bought from Fiber Curio. I’ve ordered more from another vendor and I’ll post pics upon arrival.
This scarf wove up quickly and I’m thinking about dyeing it with avocado pits in the near future.
Merino/CVM with a touch of Wensleydale added for strength and luster. Yarn is from a small family farm in Colorado and milled locally in SLC”.
Diary of a Yarnophile 