Tag: yarn

Off the Wheel: Local raw fleece sample wash, scour, & spin

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This week’s spinning project: raw fleece sample from Yellow Bell Farmstead (Arab, AL). I’m pretty sure this is a Hampshire/Suffolk cross fleece, but it’s possible that it’s a GCN (Gulf Coast Native/Dorset) cross. The fleeces that I picked up from this farm weren’t labeled, so there are only two of nine that I know for sure are full GCN (and they’re both brown ram fleeces).

This fiber was soft from the raw fleece, so I pulled about 100 grams from it and scoured it in my kitchen sink. Then, it went through my new drum carder before being spun into 2-ply yarn on my wheel. I yielded around 221 yards (2-ply, sport weight) from around 87 grams of fiber. I still have a small batt left from the sample–and of course, the rest of the raw fleece is waiting to be washed (around 2-4 pounds).

Off the Wheel: Swaledale Wool

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What can I say about spinning Swaledale wool…. Well, mine was FULL of kemp. Not that I didn’t expect kemp, but dang. It fell out when I spun both singles, it fell out when I plied, it fell out when I washed/tensioned it, and it fell out when I wove it into a table runner.

My singles kept breaking when I was plying, also, which means I should’ve put more twist into the singles, but I was afraid if I put too much energy in, they would feel coarser…and this is already a coarse wool, so…

It was mostly pleasant to spin, other than the constant falling of kemp onto my lap (see photo), but it’s probably safe to say that I won’t be spinning Swaledale again, since I mostly spin yarns that will end up against the skin. It was a good experience, however, and shows just how different one breed can be from another.

With 104g of roving, I yielded around 156 yds of worsted/aran weight 2-ply yarn.

Kemp from spinning Swaledale roving (this was when I was plying)

Woven Swaledale Handspun Yarn (weft), Commercial spun Kent Romney (warp)

Late Night Weaving & Special Fiber Arrival

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I made a quick trip to my weaving studio last night and brought home my small loom (15″ Schacht Cricket) so I can weave from home again. I decided to weave some of the Romney wool yarn that I bought the year before last during the 2019 Deep South Yarn Hop. This yarn came from River Cottage Farm in Rockfield, KY. It was labeled “Son of Chieftain” which I’m pretty sure is the sheep that it came from. I used one full skein and a few yards from the second skein since the first skein was only 130 yds. Because it was bulky weight yarn, I used my 5 dpi reed.

After I blogged yesterday, the mail person arrived with my North Ronaldsay roving from Hearthside Fibers…which I’m very excited to start spinning today (after my kids’ dentist appointment, anyway).

I ordered 300g, so it should yield enough for a couple of woven scarves. If you’ve never heard about this seaweed-eating conservation breed sheep, here is a great video to watch.

100g of Shetland/Silk Yarn is off the wheel + Bulky Waffle Hat is Finished

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100g of Hearthside Fibers Shetland/Tussah Silk Hand Dyed Roving is now off the wheel, soaked, and tensioned. Since I spun a heavier weight yarn, I’ll probably knit a hat out of this skein. I’m thinking about spinning the other 100g in a sport weight and then weave a scarf from it.

The “Bulky Waffle Hat” by Linda Suda (free pattern on Ravelry) in Universal Chunky Deluxe yarn is done as of last night. I’ve knitted this hat several times before and liked the results, so I figured I would use up some of my old stash yarn on it. It hasn’t been washed yet, but otherwise, it’s finished.

WIP: On the Needles

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When autumn started last year, I put most of my knitting projects on hold in order to weave more. This left two sweater projects on the needles: “Soundtrack” pattern by Marie Green and a seamless sweater from a Craftsy class. I’ve slowly been working on them since the new year, but I’m not pressuring myself to finish them anytime soon since I have five knitted sweaters that I can wear in the meantime (all knitted last spring/summer).

  • Soundtrack Sweater (Patagonia Organic Merino Yarn –Juniper Moon Yarn)
  • Seamless Sweater (Big Liberty Superwash Wool–Classic Elite)

I’ve also started a hat from a pattern that I’ve knitted a few times already–the “Bulky Waffle Hat” by Linda Suda. I should have this hat finished in the next day or two–hopefully, while it’s still cold enough to wear it.

Bulky Waffle Weave Hat (Universal Yarn–Deluxe Chunky)


2021 Weaving: Silk/Wool Shibori Dyed Scarf

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I finished up this project on Monday when I was dyeing kitchen towels. I hadn’t tried Shibori dyeing any of my woven scarves before, so I thought I’d give it a go. I’m mostly happy with the results, but there are a few things I would do differently next time–both with the weaving and the dyeing. Finished scarf is now available in my Etsy Shop.

Before/After Shibori Dyeing the Silk/Wool Scarf

2021 Weaving: 1st Project of the New Year

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I got a bit of a late start with my weaving in the new year, but since I wove so much October-December of 2020, I’m not beating myself up over it.

For this project, I used Blue Heron hand dyed cotton/rayon seed yarn for the warp and a two-ply blue cotton for the weft. I’m not a big fan of cotton, but I have a good bit of this yarn, so I figured I should go ahead and weave it up.

I did love the texture of the rayon seeds on the warp yarn, but it did snag a bit while I was weaving. Overall, I’m pleased with the results of the scarf.

This scarf is available for purchase in my Etsy Shop.

Cotton/Rayon blend yarn on the loom

2021 Dyeing: Turmeric Dyed Shibori-Style T-shirt Yarn

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Ground Turmeric for natural dyeing (no mordant needed)

I’ve been naturally dyeing yarn/fiber/fabric with turmeric for over 5 years now. The range of yellows produced with this single root has always fascinated me.

For this project, I dyed some of my husband’s old undershirts (t-shirts)–Shibori-style–and then let them sit in the dye pot around 24 hours. I kept the pot on low heat until bedtime and then I turned the heat off overnight. After rinsing them in cold water, I threw them into the washing machine (no detergent) and then into a high heat dryer until they were completely dry.

For a video of the finished t-shirts before they were cut into yarn, click here.

I cut up the shirts so I would have one continuous ball of yarn per shirt and then rolled them into balls. I’ll probably weave a small bathroom rug out of the yarn when I get enough made.

Turmeric dyed, Shibori-style t-shirt yarn
Turmeric dyed, Shibori-style t-shirt yarn