AND YET ANOTHER CREATIVE OUTLET

The rest of the Cotswold wool is spun!  I made 1168 yards of dk weight yarn--that's .76 miles! lol  I will be dyeing some of these skeins and use it for a weaving project I am planning.

Mary and I went to JoAnn's this past week--empty shelves everywhere....very discouraging.  

However, we did get everything on our fabric list 

and a few extras, too.  These gourds are from Hobby Lobby 

where you can get a wonderful Fall fix!   

I will also making this arrangement of painted boards myself--

isn't it perfect for we who love the beach-y look!

And last but not least, this beauty was delivered to me yesterday!  (It's a Cricut Maker 3)

I have the machine and supplies all organized and waiting for me to get going--unfortunately, it will NOT talk to my computer by Bluetooth or by USB.  I do have a computer geeky friend coming this morning to rescue me---I hope!  I have ideas you know! 

 

SPINNING ON SUNDAY!

I have my spinning station arranged by my bedroom recliner.

(On the left is a cat cushion;  Lena spent a good part of the day there but of course, moved when I tried to get a photo!)

The view is relaxing-even if it is raining out or I can watch a movie on my laptop while I spin.  (Spinning can be a bit messy-see the fuzzy bits attached to the 'neps' or 'noils' that are found in a fleece!)  

The little bits of grass or hay are also picked out as you spin-just part of the process. Yes, most of the debris in a fleece comes out in the washing and carding of the wool but the wool doesn't easily let go of the plant matter!

I managed to spin 3.6 ounces yesterday and will spin another batt today after church to round it out to a full 4 ounce bobbin.  

This Cotswold wool is a joy to spin! 

This spinning is a relaxing way to mark the passing of June!

 

TDF 2024 DAY ONE

The Tour de France  begins today 

and all spinners unite for their own event, the Tour de Fleece!  

I printed out the Tour's schedule to guide my spinning whether it will be easy, rigorous or a day of rest.

The first batt I carded earlier this month is now teased into a roving ready for me to start when the race begins!  

I will enjoy spinning some yarn today!!!

 

TRELLIS

Now that ladder I posted yesterday is a trellis!  Each upright is just over 6" and it is 53" wide. We even planted the two wisteria even though it was so hot out I almost melted!  

After lunch, I finished the last few batts that make up half of the fleece I washed.  I'm going to spin these in their natural color and perhaps dye them after they are skeins and the other half of the fleece I will be dyeing before spinning.

 

GET QUILTING!

I gathered the deep pile of tops from the shelf to see exactly what needs to be quilted!  There are 4 quilts and 3 runners.

I also have this QOV from our group to load up and quilt, too. 

 I have plenty to keep me busy over the next few days! 

 I hope to get the runners done today 

and then tackle the two QuiltsforKids done 

so I can mail them back, since they are time-sensitive.

In the meantime, I keep playing with the Cotswold wool; 

turning the washed fleece into fluffy batts.

Welcome June!

 

WASHING WOOL

I've had a raw fleece that has needed my attention for a few years and I finally got to work on it!  I fill a large canning pan with hot water and some Dawn detergent and haul it out front in the sunshine to soak.  Since we are in a heat wave of high 90's for temperatures, I figured I might as well use it to my advantage since heat is what helps the fleece let go of the lanolin and dirt.

  I was pleased to see that after 5 or 6 pans full of water, 

the water ran clean when I rinsed it!

It didn't take long for the fleece to dry in that kind of heat either!  

This is the clean lock for this Cotswold wool.  

If you have any familiarity with Medieval times, 

 the wool of fame was this Cotswold breed.  

I was so excited to give it a try!

A few locks look like this with a bit of finger fluffing;  

it is a super soft wool;  an against-your-skin-soft wool!

I couldn't wait to card up a bit of a preview of the wool using my hand cards.  Today, I will haul the drum carder outside to give it a go and make some batts for spinning. 

 I am always torn because I want to get spinning but I also love to spin COLOR!!! But that means dyeing the wool. I will have to figure out if I want to add that step before I begin spinning! 

 We will see what I decide to do!

 

Mostly Yarn

 I've pieced all of the Churn Dash blocks...now to assemble them.  

Today, I will see if I have enough of the paint brush fabric for a border!

This isn't the final layout, it is just the order I built them and put them on the wall.

Already the patriotic quilt is calling to me!

 Isn't this a pretty pair of sock toes?  I am knitting in the Hermione pattern for texture on this pair.

I will up the ante and see how I do with them!

This yarn is another skein of Regia in Native color this time.  

It is a nice dusky red like the colors in the Grand Canyon.

 I also knit a swatch in SilverSpun yarn which was gifted me when I first came home from the hospital.  It is a wonder to be so loved!  This yarn needs to be knit in a larger needle so I had to figure out how many stitches I needed to cast on.  I've got the info I need now to cast on only 44 stitches instead of the usual 64 so these should be on my feet in no time!

This yarn is supposed to be great for people with neuropathy and circulation problems so I've got the perfect pair of feet for these socks!

 Look what I finished spinning!

This 2 ounce skein has 122 yards and is very lofty.  

I will be washing these three Cotswold cross skeins and the Polwarth skeins I spun months ago because it will be a perfect wool drying day! 

While I still want to dye 2 of the 3 skeins and use them on the loom, I haven't made any definite plans.  I will just enjoy looking at them washed , dried and filled with possibilities!