dear pansy

that cute little pansy, tempting me greatly while i was trying to finish the tour, finally got spun. the colors faded when spun with the green really becoming predominant. i was less than pleased with this fiber prep. there were alot of vegetation in the roving and it made for a messy spin. i think that constantly trying to pluck the stuff out made for uneven singles.

you can really see the differences in this pic. i'm anxious to see if other fiber that i've purchased from this farm have the same outcome. but for now, i needed a break from wool/mohair.

so i gave the stash a toss and found 8 ounces of romney lamb from maple ridge farm dyed in an autumnal colorway. it is b e a u t i f u l!! i regret only have the one batch. this was a 2008 rhinebeck purchase so i'll be on the look out for more of this fiber.my left thumb had an encounter with a knife blade... really slows the spinning down!

a tisket, a tasket .....

my prize winning basket! i am quite tickled that i am showing progress in my fibery endeavors. the basket is full of the fiber i spun for cc during the tourdefleece. as i clawed my way through the tour, i thought that my spinning quality had faltered. the single skein took third place which confirms this, however the entire project garnered a first. wow.
those merletto mitts may look familiar. they were done for amy from her kettle-dyed fiber. she encouraged me to enter them. i was reluctant to do this. i've never entered my knitting in anything. i've seen some of those knitted items at the festival. i felt much trepidation putting them in. wow.
the guild display with the morning surf scarves. what a success that was. amythefibergoddess did an amazing job with this project from beginning to end! folks had a great time voting on their favorites and checking out the craftsmanship of these pieces. i think that this sparked interest in keeping it an annual event!
what a group of gals! enjoying all those fabulous fibers, woolly good friends....can't wait til next year!!

sample sock

amythefibergoddess, asked me in august to test-knit with her new yarn. she had sent wool the mill to be spun with nylon for sock yarn. she hand-paints the skeins and then sells them at the finger lakes fiber fest in her booth - stone edge fibers.
so, she dyed this to my request in more than ample time for me to have a pair done. well, life kicked me in the butt and i have just completed this one. it is quite lovely. i adapted several patterns, and even tossed in some of my own design. my gauge was 7.5 sts/inch on a us 1 needle. i used my kollage squares and liked them very much.
soooooo, at least their will be one sock on display!

so, i went to the fair...

and had a fabulous time! amythefibergoddess, won several awards with her fleeces. since i don't have many fair photos, i'll show you her prize winning wool!
spending the day spinning while the sheep are across the way chatting is delightful. i met two fellow spinners, in fact ann taught me how to navajo ply last year. we chatted about wool and all the cool things to see and do at the fair. i'm convinced i need to enter a skein next year.
it is also interesting to experience the addiction cycle. i came home with the name and website of a shepard in montana, with lincoln longwool sheep, convinced i need a fleece. you can see where that is going, right?
folks ask all the usual questions, 'what are you making?' 'can't you but it at a store?' 'is that what sleeping beauty pricked her finger on?' the guys are always into the engineering, the gals love the colors. i took that sassy pansy with me to spin, and it drew lots of comments. i'm almost done spinning the singles, so i'll have to decided what i'm doing next.
i may just wait and start something new from the festival!