Fluff Finale

Voila! I have finished and photographed all of the samples I am going to be using for my demo. It has been such a fun learning experience.

Top Row : Poodle Puppy/Silk, Sheltie/Taupe Corriedale
Bottom Row: Bearded Collie mix/Grey Corriedale, Pomeranian/Natural Black Rambouillet

Poodle Puppy/Alpaca

These samples have certainly improved the quality of my spinning. I learned how not to let the fiber or habit dictate how my finished yarns will look. I naturally spin moderately low twist yarns; I like soft cushiness in my finished work. So if I leave my hands to work on automatic pilot, that's what I will get. Unfortunately, dog fluff needs more twist even when blended with a medium wool or it will be nearly as fuzzy as fun fur. Over the course of this project, I had to learn how to adjust my spinning to get the effect I was aiming for. There were some "failures"; it took me a few tries to get the Husky/alpaca to spin. And in the end, I was only mostly successful with it, but the fault may lie more with the short cria alpaca than the Husky. Which is why it ended up as the FELTED tote. LOL

The Pomeranian/Rambouillet was probably the most successful of the squares, although the Sheltie blend was fun to work with too. I am glad I have the whole Rambo fleece as I think it may now end up blended with newf and knit into a jacket for next fall. My queue is way too full for squeezing that in now.

I am officially signing off for the week and I will have TONS to post when I get back from Camp.

Have a safe and splendiferous Labor Day Weekend!

More Dog Fluff Stuff

Okay, I spent TOO much of today getting the dogs groomed and ready for Camp, so I didn't get the sample squares photographed. I know I promised, but I can only do so much. To pacify you all, here is my second favorite sample piece.

Filigree Scarf

Pattern: Fabulous Filigree Scarf in One Skein Wonders edited by Judith Durant
Yarn: Handspun Rough Collie/Cream Romney Blend
Needles: KnitPicks Options size 6

You can see the amount of color change in the Collie fiber... I didn't honestly notice it so much until it was knitted up. The color is a little more subtle in person, but my digital camera either shot it plain cream or this, so there you go. It is just a nice scarf, it looks like it might be a shawlish size in the photo and the book, but it is more like collar size. It will look nice crossed under my coat this winter.

Dog Fluff Stuff

We leave for Camp on Saturday, so I am down to the wire on the Dog Fluff Stuff. The maiden voyage of my spinning dog fluff demo is scheduled for Tuesday -- wish me luck!. I have more demos lined up for later this fall so all the work putting together the handouts and samples will be put to good use.

The final push to finish knitting has been rather consuming of late. I will have some more to show you tomorrow, but here is is bulk of the finished samples... I know I shouldn't have favorites but this container really knocks my socks off...

Felted Container

Pattern: Adapted from Felted Gift Bag in One Skein Wonders
Yarn: Handspun Anatolian Shepherd/White Corriedale and Bearded Collie/Grey Corriedale
Needles: KnitPicks Options size 9

Fingerless Mitts

Pattern: Dashing from Knitty
Yarn: Handspun Golden Retreiver / Merino blend
Needles: KnitPicks Options size 7

Felted Tote

Pattern:Adapted from Fulled Lopi Tote by Hello Yarn
Yarn: Handspun Siberian Husky/Varigated Gray Alpaca
Needles: KnitPicks Options size 10.5

I have a couple more things to photograph and a Pomeranian/Rambo blend to knit up still.

Summer Slacker

I admit it. It's summertime and the living is easy. It's not that I haven't been working on all sorts of fibery goodness, I just haven't wanted to be sitting in my office typing about it... LOL Between the heat, the garden, the dogs and the social nature of summers in Maine, I just haven't been disciplined enough. I am trying to change that, but I wouldn't count my chickens if I were you.

When I am feeling trapped indoors in the A/C blasting, I like to spin. There has been lots of spinning completed lately. Here is some beautiful yarn from what I can only say was the UGLIEST roving man has ever created... Burnt orange, day-glo orange, navy blue and taupe, it was another ebay purchase -- deceptively photographed and given the classy name - SeaShells... I don't know about where you live, but here in Maine... seashells are never day-glo orange. Spinning it was a lark -- I was curious just how ugly the yarn would be. As you can see, it isn't ugly at all, quite the opposite in fact. It reminds me of Fall between Halloween and Thanksgiving. Seashells are nowhere to be found but Autumnal Splendor might have kept me from believing it was ugly for all these months. I am still shocked at where the burgundy came from, it just magically appeared while I was spinning.





It's a 2-ply DK weight, medium wool spun using a modified long draw from a now unknown ebay seller.

My second yarn to show you is a different story. This is the mohair/wool blend roving from Friends Folly Farm I got at the Fiber Frolic. I loved the roving. It was one of those rovings I would pull out of the stash and fondle for no reason. I still loved it after I spun it up and plied it, but then it went into it's bubble bath to set the twist and the water quickly turned a dark blood red and then over the next few minutes the water turned a rusty brown. I am going to guess I lost about 30% of the color saturation. It is still very pretty, if a little pale. My disappointment is probably coloring my opinion a bit overmuch (ooh look a pun!) Take a look...





It's a 2-ply sport weight, 50/50 mohair and wool spun using a modified long draw from Friends Folly Farm.